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Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell is reportedly considering stepping down, according to a statement Friday by Billy Pulte, head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, adding fresh tension to an already strained relationship with President Donald Trump.
“I’m encouraged by reports that Jerome Powell is considering resigning. I think this will be the right decision for America, and the economy will boom,” Pulte said in a public statement.
The comment comes amid mounting pressure from Trump, who has sharply criticized Powell over the Fed’s refusal to cut interest rates. Trump has repeatedly called for Powell’s resignation, most recently labeling him a "numbskull" and suggesting that he "maybe" would attempt to remove him from office.
While federal law stipulates that a Fed chair may only be removed “for cause”—a legal standard requiring proof of misconduct or serious dereliction—Trump has previously removed officials despite similar limitations, raising speculation he could attempt to do the same with Powell..
Separately, Powell is facing scrutiny over a multibillion-dollar renovation project for the Federal Reserve’s headquarters in Washington, D.C.
In a letter, Russell Vought, former Director of the Office of Management and Budget and current Republican policy advocate, accused the Fed of including extravagant features in its redesign, such as “rooftop terrace gardens, VIP private dining rooms and elevators, water features, premium marble, and much more.”
Vought also questioned whether the central bank had altered its renovation plans without securing proper approval from the National Capital Planning Commission (NCPC), which oversees federal building projects in the D.C. area.
During a Senate hearing last month, Powell defended the renovation, calling the allegations “misleading and inaccurate.”
“There is no new marble, aside from replacement of damaged parts. There are no rooftop gardens, no special elevators, no new water features,” Powell told lawmakers. “All of the inflammatory things reported in the media are either not in the current plan or just inaccurate.”
Nonetheless, Vought’s letter argued that Powell’s testimony “appears to reveal that the project is out of compliance with the approved plan” and may violate federal regulations requiring NCPC oversight.
The Office of Management and Budget echoed Vought's concerns in a post on X, alleging that Powell “slipped up and revealed he might... be violating the law.”
The Federal Reserve operates independently of the executive branch, and its authority to renovate or acquire buildings in the capital stems from federal statutes granting it unique institutional autonomy. The dispute over the headquarters renovation has reignited debate about the limits of that autonomy—and whether political pressure may be encroaching on central bank operations.
If Powell were to resign under pressure, it would mark a rare and controversial shift in the Fed's leadership amid ongoing political battles over monetary policy, inflation control, and the broader direction of the U.S. economy.
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